Businesses in California can take many steps to enhance accessibility and support disability rights. On one hand, this is an ethical choice that helps business owners feel good about serving everyone in their community. In addition, prioritizing disability rights also represents a shrewd business decision – as more accessibility naturally means more paying customers. Finally, this is an important choice from a regulatory perspective. Companies that fail to enhance accessibility may face punitive action from government agencies – or even discrimination lawsuits. Businesses can achieve these various goals with a few innovative strategies – potentially with guidance from a disability discrimination lawyer.
Disability Improvements May Be Required if You Renovate
According to the California Building Code, businesses must make disability improvements whenever they renovate existing structures or build new ones from scratch. During a renovation, the entire area under renovation must meet California’s new accessibility standards. Even outside of the area being renovated, certain aspects may need to be improved during this process. These might include bathrooms, drinking fountains, signs, and paths of travel.
If You Can Afford to Make the Improvements, You Must Make Them
The California Building Code also states that businesses can only avoid making disability improvements if they can afford to do so. Note that if you attempt to claim that disability improvements are unaffordable, you must prove that this is true. The burden of proof lies with you. Even without these improvements, you might be required to make other, lower-cost improvements.
Hire a Certified Access Specialist
One of the first steps for many businesses is to hire a Certified Access Specialist (CASp). These professionals arrive at your location and evaluate disability accessibility. At the end of the evaluation, the CASp provides you with a report detailing your compliance or noncompliance with state and federal accessibility requirements. If you fail to meet these requirements, you may need to provide the CASp with a reasonable timeline for the planned improvements. Note that if you face a disability discrimination lawsuit due to inaccessibility, a CASp inspection report may allow you to delay the lawsuit for a few months.
Consider Assistive Technologies
Some of the most innovative new strategies for improving disability access involve “assisted technologies.” Also known simply as “AT,” these improvements can improve the functionality and independence of people living with disabilities. AT can also help elderly individuals who are trying to navigate various California businesses. The Department of Rehabilitation states that by 2030, two billion people around the world will need at least one assistive product.
Assistive technology does not need to be complex or expensive. One of the most basic examples is an automatic soap dispenser, which may allow people with disabilities to wash their hands properly.
If your business uses screen displays, you can easily improve disability access. Captioning is an obvious step, and you can set up this technology with little effort. Screen readers can also help the visually impaired. One of the most complex screen upgrades is a braille display.
Educate Your Employees About Best Practices and Maintaining Independence
If you have employees who interact with customers directly, you might want to educate them about how to serve those with disabilities. One of the most common mistakes for employees is to touch the wheelchairs of disabled individuals. Various sources confirm that a wheelchair is part of a disabled person’s “safe space,” and you should only touch it with permission. Many disabled people value their independence, and they prefer to navigate stores of their own free will. Although serving disabled individuals is important, it does not involve taking away their independence.
On the same note, an employee should always address a disabled person directly instead of speaking to their caregiver or companion. A person may be disabled, but this doesn’t mean they can’t communicate effectively. Even if an individual struggles to communicate their thoughts, employees should still make an effort to listen and serve them directly. When an employee addresses a companion or caregiver instead, the disabled person often feels less independence and a lack of agency.
You Can Get Funding for Disability Improvements
Some of the most innovative strategies reduce costs for businesses planning to improve accessibility. California operates many such programs, including the EmployABILITY Business Grant. With this grant, businesses can cover the cost of new equipment, training, consulting, and all other expenses related to hiring disabled employees. Although this funding targets employees with disabilities, many of the improvements in your workplace may also improve accessibility for average customers.
Under California law, businesses must improve accessibility for both disabled individuals and employees. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) may sue businesses that fire workers due to their disabilities or fail to hire them specifically because of their disabilities. If your workplace cannot support disabled employees, you may still need to hire them and then attempt to make the necessary improvements.
Disability Access Also Applies to the Digital World
Many of today's most successful businesses operate entirely digitally. However, even if they do not have physical storefronts, these companies are still required to prioritize accessibility for disabled people.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) contains many requirements for websites. Among other things, text must be of a certain size. Businesses must also choose fonts that are easy to read and not overly stylized. In addition, the contrast between text and background is important for ADA compliance. To learn more about ADA web compliance, speak with an experienced disability attorney.
Can a California Disability Discrimination Lawyer Help Me?
If you believe that a business is not taking sufficient steps to provide access to disabled individuals, you might want to speak with an experienced disability discrimination lawyer in California. These legal professionals can push back against businesses and hold them accountable for failing to provide you with equitable treatment. Under California law, businesses face serious consequences for blocking access to disabled individuals. This applies to both the physical world and the digital world. To learn more about a potential discrimination lawsuit, contact McGuinness Law Group today.